Our Disney Trip Day 5 -- May 16th, 2009

Saturday we spent the whole day at Animal Kingdom. Since we had already ridden the Safari, we didn’t rush. We slept in a little (as long as our kids would let us. They are early risers!) and had stopped at the Pop Century food court for a delicious breakfast.

At the entrance to Animal Kingdom, we stopped and met Flik and Meeko. Then we went through the RainForest Café gift shop and posed for pictures with their various statues. Did you know there is a secret entrance to Animal Kingdom outside the gift shop? It was a great way to beat the lines.

We stopped for a popcorn snack and bought a Kids Discovery Club kit. Jacob wasn’t the least bit interested in seeing The Lion King, so Jason took Emily again. Jacob and I hung out and fed the ducks then we went to meet his favorite characters.

First up was Goofy. He patiently waited his turn and then marched right up to him and gave him a huge, sweet hug. He posed for a quick picture, said fair well and went off to find the next character trail. He repeated the same routine with both Mickey and Minnie. It was wonderful.

We began to make our journey around Animal Kingdom to the various Kids Club stations. Emily learned so much at each station and she learned how to direct us towards them by following the map. We even found a couple trails that took us up close to the Tree of Life while looking for the stations.

We had lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque and it was delicious except for the ducks that kept pecking our feet. We did find a table that offered an awesome view of Expedition Everest. After lunch, we did the Maharajah Jungle Trek which we did not enjoy at all, and stopped to play drums in Africa.

Next up, we boarded the train to the Conservation Station. If you have time, this is a really fun place to go. There is a petting area where my kids had a blast brushing goats. This is also one of the only places to meet Jiminy Cricket. We were not expecting to see him! We also found Pocahantas. And I mean found her. She was blending in with the willow tree! We also had to see Rafiki before we left. Emily was just as excited to meet him as she was the first time.

We timed our trip back from the Conservation Station perfectly. For those that didn’t know, Mickey’s Jammin Jungle Parade starts and ends in Africa. We waited for the end and we were able to grab a seat right up in the front. All the characters in the parade spotted our kids and waved. This thrilled Emily. She loved feeling so special.

We decided to go see Finding Nemo before the park closed. Jacob had not enjoyed watching any previous shows, but we thought we would give it a try. I ended up having to leave the show 5 minutes into it. It will be nice once Jacob is old enough to have more patience.

For dinner, we ate at the Pop Century food court again. Looking back, wow we ate there a lot. At least the food was delicious!